Lawmakers Returns Tuesday, February 16

Lawmakers will not be seen Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday because the Georgia General Assembly will be in recess. We'll return with all the latest from under the gold dome on Tuesday, February 16 for Legislative Day 18.

Coming up next week, we'll have an in-depth budget interview on Wednesday, February 17 with Alan Essig (pictured left) of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute and Kelly McCutchen of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation. Lawmakers' Susan Hoffman will be sitting down with these two budget thought leaders to get their take on the FY 2010 Amended Budget which passed the House on February 11 as well as the FY 2011 General Budget which is currently under consideration in the House Appropriations Committee. That interview will be a part of the Lawmakers broadcast at 7 PM on Wednesday, February 17.

On Thursday, February 18, Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Carol W. Hunstein (pictured right) will deliver her first State of the Judiciary Address to a special joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate at 11 AM. Justice Hunstein was appointed to the Supreme Court in November 1992 by then Governor Zell Miller. She is the second woman in history to serve as a permanent member of the Court. It is expected that her remarks will address the current budget situation in Georgia's courts. GPB will broadcast LIVE the State of the Judiciary address on GPB Knowledge. GPB Knowledge is available to most cable customers and those with digital television receivers at point 3 of your local GPB transmitter. For example, 20.3 in Augusta or 8.3 in Atlanta. The State of the Judiciary: A Lawmakers Special Edition will also be streamed live online at www.gpb.org.

As a reminder, here's the schedule of the legislature as established in House Resolution 1262:

Friday, February 12 through Monday, February 15. . . . in adjournment
Tuesday, February 16.. . . . . . . in session for legislative day 18
Wednesday, February 17. . . . . in session for legislative day 19
Thursday, February 18. . . . . . .in session for legislative day 20
Friday, February 19 through Monday, February 22. . . . in adjournment
Tuesday, February 23.. . . . . . . in session for legislative day 21
Wednesday, February 24. . . . . in session for legislative day 22
Thursday, February 25 . . . . . . in session for legislative day 23
Friday, February 26 through Monday, March 1. . . . . . . in adjournment
Tuesday, March 2. . . . . . . . . . . .in session for legislative day 24

We hope you'll tune in when Lawmakers returns on Tuesday!

Day 17- February 11, 2010

Tonight on Lawmakers, the 2010 Amended Budget passes the House; Governor Sonny Perdue, Lt. Governor Casey Cagle and House Speaker David Ralston present a unified transportation plan calling for voters to decide on sales tax increases in the State’s 12 transportation regions; our leadership series of interviews continues with Senate Democratic Leader Robert Brown; and it’s the end of another legislative week- that means it’s time to check in with Tom Crawford of the Georgia Report.

Day 16- February 10, 2010

Tonight on Lawmakers, the 2010 Amended Budget passes the House Appropriations Committee, reflecting a 6.2% decrease in state revenue from 2009 projections—over $1 billion; the office of the Secretary of State comes under fire over furlough days; the Senate authorizes the State Department of Transportation to adopt a design–build method, which could bring in additional federal stimulus dollars; and First Lady Mary Perdue visits patients at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite.

Day 15- February 9, 2010

Tonight on Lawmakers, a bill giving local schools some spending discretion in light of tough economic times passes the House; A bipartisan group of legislators introduce their plan to generate more revenue for transportation; House Democrats criticize a Republican plan to increase sales tax collections saying it doesn’t go far enough; and our leadership series of interviews continues with House Democratic Caucus Chair Calvin Smyre.

Day 14- February 8, 2010

Tonight on Lawmakers, Governor Sonny Perdue’s plan to restructure State Government by changing some leadership positions from elected to appointed positions; the plan to pay teachers based on student achievement and classroom observation rather than experience; and the Budget Task Force releases information about their first piece of legislation– a paperwork reduction initiative. All that and more.